Gage for sheet-metal shears, &amp;c.



F. E. MUNSCHAUER.

GAGE FOR SHEET METAL SHEARS, &c. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7. 1919.

1,366,409. Patented Jan. 25,1921.

4 SHEE'I SSHEE'I I.

nverzfwfl wmk M F. E. MUNSCHAUER.

GAGE FOR SHEET METAL SH EARS, &c.

' APPLICATION FILED JUNE]. 191 9.

1,366,409. Patented Jan. 25,1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F. E. MUNSCHAUER.

GAGE FOR SHEET METAL SHEARS, aw.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7. 1919.

- Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

4 SHEETS--SHEE'I 3.

F. E. MUNSCHAUER. GAGE FOR SHEET METAL SHEARS, &.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7, 1919.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

L/izzvrne s,

canto stares PATENT OFFICE.

nmnnarcx 1a uunscnaurm; or nor-mm, am You, ASBIGIN'OB 'ro mom MACHINE & TOOL WORKS, OF BUFFALO, NEW

YORK.

noun, a coarom'rron or NEW GAGE FOR SHEET-METAL My M.

Specification of Letters mm.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

Application filed June 7, 1919. Serial No. 802,569.

This invention relates to an adjustable back stop or gage for a metal cutting or forming machine, by means of which the blank work piece which is to be operated upon may be. placed in proper relation to the metal cutting members of the machine.

()ne of the objects of the invention is to produce an adjustable screw gage or stop which will enable the work piece to be placed against said gage at any desired an- A further object 18 to provide for very accurate and convenient setting of the gage and yet enable the same to withstand repeated shocks and heavy use without being thrown out of adjustment.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a power gap shearing machine equipped with my improved gage. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section thereof looking upwardly, and taken online 2-2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through one of the supportingvarms. Fig. 1 is a side elevation of said supporting arm detached from the rest of the gage parts. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section through one of the supporting arms, taken on line 5-5, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section through the supporting arm taken on line 6-6, Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is ahorizontal section lookin upwardl views.

This improved stop gage may be used in connection with a 'var1ety of metal cutting machines but the same 1s shown in the and similar toFig' 2, but showing a modified form of gage addrawings as applied .to a shearing machine.

The main frame 10 of this gap shears comprises two massive end frame members 16, 16 which are tied together by means of the stiffening tie rods 17 and by the channeledbeam bed plate 14 which is secured at its ends by the bolts 19 to said end frame members. J ournaled at its opposite 'ends in the upper partof said end frame members is the driving shaft 20 provided at one end with the driving pulley wheel 21 which is power driven gap belted to a suitable source of power for driving the machine. Also secured to said drlve shaft and arranged inwardly of the end frame members are the two eccentrics 22, 22 which are provided with the customary central annular grooves 23 in their outer circular edges with the annular flan es 24 on each longitudinal side thereof. Ri ing in the grooves of the eccentrics between the companion retaining flan es 24 thereof are the eccentric straps 25, which are caused to rise and fall as the main driving shaft 20is rotated. The eccentric straps are pivotally connected at their lower ends by the pivot pins 26 to the cutter bar or shearing head 11 which head is therefore caused to rise and fall in unison with the eccentric collars 22 whose eccentric throws are in line. This shearing head 11 engages slidingly at its opposite ends with the vertical guides 27 which are arranged in the end frame members 16 of the machine, suitable provision being made for the necessary adjustment incident to the wear of the sliding parts so as I to allow of compensation therefor. Secured tothe lower front corner of the shearing head is the upper shear knife or blade 12 of hard tempered steel ,whose lower front ed e is adapted to move downwardly and come in contact with the upper surface of the sheet of metal which is to be sheared. The companion lower shear knife or blade 13 is set into the upper rear corner of the bed plate 14 which is'a stationary part of the machine and the upper rear edge of said lower shear blade is adapted tocome in contact with the lower face of said sheet of metal the rear face of said lower shear blade being substantially in vertical alinement with the front face of the upper shear blade 12 aforesaid.

'plate prior to the shearing operation thereon.

The blank metal sheet which is to be cut I is fed in between this upper shear b ade 12 and the lower shear blade or knife 13 which latter is set transversely in the rear edge of the bed. 14 of the main frame of the machine and the cutting or shearing of the sheet of metal is caused by the downward movement of said upper shear blade 12. The blank sheet of metal is properly positioned in the machine by sliding said sheet rearwardly on the upper flat surface of the bed plate 14 until the rear edge thereof comes in contact With the gage bar 15 which forms part of my improved stop gage. This gage bar may be arranged either parallel to the cutting knives or blades 12 and 13 as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, or it may be arranged at any desirable angle relatively thereto as illustrated, for instance, in Fig. 2, and in either case at any desired distance from the cutting blades. The shearing head 11 is provided at its lower rear part with the rearwardly extending stiffening web 28 and secured against the lower face thereof about a quarter of.

the way from the ends of said shearing head are two taperedsupporting arms 29 which extend a considerable distance rearwardly. Each supporting arm is preferably channel shaped and comprises a horizontal longitudinal top wall 30, two vertical longitudinal depending flanges 31 arranged along each edge of said top wall, and inner and outer vertical transverse walls 32 and 33, respectively. J ournaled in the end walls of each supporting arm is a longitudinally disposed adjusting screw 34 provided along its central part with an external screw thread and provided at its forward 'end with a front journal 35 which rotates in a bearing 36 formed in the front end wall 32 of the respective supporting arm. The rear part of the adjusting screw is preferably of reduced diameter so as to prevent rearward movement thereof and to provide a rear journal 37 which rotates within a rear bearing 38 formed in the rear end wall 33 of the respective supporting arm. Preferably arranged to slide longitudinally on the adjusting screws are bifurcated slide blocks 39 and 390 each of which is provided with a front slide bearing 40 and with a rear slide bearing 41, which bearings are longitudinally and axially in alinement and receive their companion rotatable adjusting screw 34 and to' slide back and forth thereon. Formed intermediately in each slide block is a transversely disposed notch 42 which extends downwardly from the top edge of said block and snugly receives a thrust nut 43 between its Vertical flat faces 39. This thrust nut is provided with a longitudinally disposed ole' 44 provided wit an internal screw thread which meshes with the external-screw thread of its companion adjusting screw 34. To prevent the thrust nut from rotating, the same is preferably provided with two depending feet 45, as best shown in Fig. 5, which are formed on the bottom of said nut and are arranged transversely on opposite sides of the axis of the tapped hole 44 thereof and engage with the lower horizontal flat face 46 of the transverse notch 42. Thus as the adjusting screw 34 is rotated one way or the other, the thrust nut is prevented from rotating and causes the slide block to move along on said adjusting screw either forwardly or backwardly.

Each adjusting screw is rotated manually by means of a hand wheel 47 which is secured to the rear or outer end of said screw and bears with its forward face against the rear face of the rear end wall 33 of its supporting arm and thereby constrains said adjusting screw against forward motion. As the annular shoulder which is formed at the front end of the reduced journal 37 of the adjusting screw engages the front side of the wall 33, this obviously prevents rearward motion thereof. It is' apparent that the adjusting screw while free to rotate is prevented from longitudinal movement in either direction. Formed on the upper rear part of each supporting arm 29 is an integral enlargement 48 which is provided at its inner end with a slide bearing hole 50 of small diameter and at its outer end with an enlarged hole 51,'both of said holes being longitudinally disposed and axially in line. A longitudinal locking pin 52 is arranged within the hole 50 so as to slide longitudinally or to rotate therein and is provided on its outer or rear end with a cylindrical head 53 which engages with the enlarged hole 51. Interposed between said head 53 and the shoulder which is formed at the inner end of the enlarged hole 51 is a compression spring 54 that yieldingly forces the locking pin 52 outwardly. For the purpose of holding said locking pin in its retracted or inner position whenever desired, the same has secured thereto onits inner end a spool-shaped head or knob 55 which is provided on one side of its outer end with a transverse stop shoulder 56 and is cut sharply away on the other side of its outer end at 57, as best seen in Figs. 3 and 6. Thus when the'locking pin is' moved to its extreme inner position and then partially rotated, the said shoulder 56 thereof swings down in front of an inwardly facing retaining abutment 58 which is formed on the enlargement 48 of the supporting arm and thereby holds the locking pin in its retracted position. When it is desired to release the locking pin, the

- in in.

same is rotated until the" out away portion 57 is in line with the retainingabutment 68.

the pitch of the screw threadon the adjustin screw 34. Preferably, the micrometer ho es are sixteen in number and the pitch of the adjusting screw is four threads er inch, so that a rotation of the hand whee 47 corresponding to a change from one of its micrometer holes to the one next adjacent will cause the slide block 39 to move longitudi- -mately in proper positions and nallya distance of one sixty-fourth of an inch.v Irf assembling the parts the slide blocks are preferably mounted appgozimeans of a measuring scale59 whic i s pre erably arranged along one of the vertical sides of each su porting arm and on which the inches or other measuring units are di- Vided into a number of parts e ual to the.-

pitch of the ad'usting screw. he inches are preferably ivided into four parts, as shown, so that one complete turn of the hand wheel will change the position of its slide block one divislon on' the scale 59, which division represents one quarter of an inch of travel of the slide block, so that the micrometer hole measurement .of the hand wheel added to the measurement of the scale 59 gives the absolutely accurate position of the slide block without having to count the number of rotations of said hand wheel. It is obvious that suitable proportioning for metric system measurement can be arranged for if desired.

Connected with the slide block 39 against the lower horizontal face thereof is a suspension arm 62 which is provided at its rear end with a bolt hole .63 and also with a re-' taining hole 64 of like diameter. Bolts 65 pass through said holes into the slide block 39 and thereby rigidly secure the suspension -arm 62 to said slideblock. The other slide block 390 however, as shown in Fig. 2, has a suspension link 66 pivotally hung against the lower flat face thereof and this suspension link is identical with the suspension arm 62 aforesaid except that the retaining hole 64 of the latter is omitted. Obviou 1y a low manufacturing cost results from this duplicated constructlon. Pivotally connected to the forward end' of both the suspension link and the suspension arm and resting upon the upper faces thereof, is the gage bar The number of these micrometerloc ng holes 61 bears a definite relation to is which is'srefe'rably or an le-iron shape, and provide on its forwar edge with a .depending vertical flange 68 a ainst the front flat face of which is presse the blank sheet of metalthat is to be operated upon. Inasmuch as each adjusting'screwis independently rotatable and as the gage bar is provided with suitable swivel mountings, it

. 1s apparent that said gage bar may not only be adjustabl positioned parallel to the sheari bla cs 12 and 13 and at any desired distance therefrom but may also be arranged at any an le relatively thereto and also at any desired istance therefrom. Thus the sheet of metal may be placed in any desired angular relation to the metal cutting 'or forming members of the machine.

This improved gage is not, of course, confined to the type of machine shown in the drawings, as it may for instance be desired to form a row of or a bead is to be out at an angle with one of the edges of the sheet. And it is evident that in the positioning of the sheet of metal, these cutting operations may be adjusted with micrometer accuracy inasmuch as'either one of the hand wheels need be only sufiiturned as to move one end of the gage ar a sixty-fourth of an inch and then may be securely locked in osition by means of the locking pin 52. urthermore very hard usage or vibration of this improved gage will not throw the same out of adjustment, because of this positive locking provision of said locking pin together with the fact that the whole gage is constructed to resist very heavy strains and does not rel unched holes in a sheet Y of metal at a certain angle with one of the edges, or perhaps a milled groove or a slot mits of judicious use of different metals aving different characteristics notably in the case of the thrust nut and the slide block.

On Sheet No. 4.is shown a modified and somewhat more expensive form of adjustable gage which not onl performs all the functions of the type 0 ga e hitherto described but has when desired, t e additional feature of simultaneous movement of both slide blocks at the same time. This means that whether the stop gage is either positioned parallel to or at an angle with the shear blades, said stop gage may be moved toward or away from the shear blades and yet constantly maintain the same angle with respect thereto. The construction whereb this parallel adjustability may be obtaine desired, is as follows:

Secured to the movable shearing head 11 of the shearing machine, so as to rise and fall therewith, are two rearwardly extending modified supportin arms 290 which are analogous to the PIGVlOllSb' ilGSCIlbGd supporting arms 29. Secured to the rearmost when end of each adjusting screw 34, which is journaled in the companionsupporting arm is a driven bevel gear 70. Journaled horizontally and transversel in suitable bearings 71 at the outer en s of said modified supporting arms 290 are hand wheel shafts 72 and 720, and secured to the inner ends thereof are driving bevel gears 73 which meshwith the driven bevel gears aforesaid. Thus a rotation of said hand wheel shafts 72 and 720, causes a rotation of adjusting screws 34. At the inner end of one of said hand wheel shafts, as for instance 72, is arranged a clamp coupling 74, which is secured thereto by means of a pin 75. The opposite end of said clamp coupling 74 is longitudinally split at 76 for a distance of about half the length of said coupling and clamping ears 77 are arranged adjacent to said split. In each of the four clampingears is formed a clamping hole 78 and passing therethrough are clamping bolts 80. When these clamping bolts 80 are loosened, the hand wheel shafts 72 and 720 may be turned independently of each other, but on the other hand, when said clamping bolts 80 are tightened, then the split end of the clamp coupling is pinched inwardly so as to grip the inner end of the shaft 720, and the two shafts 72 and 720 thereby are caused to rotate together. When such is the case, the gage bar 15 is movable toward or away from the shear blades of the machine at a constant angle, quite irrespective of what this angle may be. When the clamping bolts 80 are loosened, then the operation of this modified form of gage is just like that of the gage shown in Figs. 1-6, inclusive, in which either one of the adjusting screws 34 may be adj ustably moved independently of the other adjusting screw. This independent movement of each hand wheel shaft is accomplished as follows:

At the outer ends of said hand .wheel shafts 72 and 720, are secured the hand wheels 47 which are provided with the micrometer adjusting holes 61 and adapted to engage with or be disengaged from any one of said holes is the longitudinal locking pin 52 as described in detall in connection with the gage shown in Sheets 1, 2 and 3. When it is desired to .turn either of the hand wheels, its companion locking pin 52 is retracted and the wheel rotated, as desired, the distance between each micrometer hole corresponding preferably to a longitudinal travel by its companion slide block of one sixtyfourth of an inch. If it is desired to considerably rotate the hand wheel, the locking pin may be held in its retracted position by quarter turning the same, so that the shoulder 56 is dropped below the upper inner edge of the retaining abutment 58. When, however, the locking pin is engaging with one of the micrometer adjusting holes 61, it is practically impossible to throw the gage out of adjustment. When the clamp coupling 74 has been loosened, either hand wheel may be micrometrically turned so as to correspondingly move its end of the gage bar. When the coupling 74 is tightened, t e entire gage bar 15 moves parallelly by the operation of either hand Wheel and with the same micrometric adjustment of either wheel before. It should be noticed that this micrometric adjustment does not involve the use of a hair lined Vernier with a magnifying glass attachment or another similar delicate mechanism. The accuracy is none the less real, but the actual operation of altering the position of the gage bar one sixtyfourth of an inch involves the crude movement of one or the other of the hand wheels an eighth of a revolution which corresponds tothe distance between two adjacent micrometer holes.

The gage is manifestly simple in operation and construction and is conveniently manipulated, it does not require frequent repairing, it can be readily detached en-. tirely from the machine when desired, and can be manufactured at very low cost.

I claim as my invention:

' 1. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising a gage bar, slide blocks pivotally connected w1th said bar, and adjusting screws for actuating said blocks.

2. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising a gage bar, adjusting screws, slide blocks actuated by said screws,) and suspen sion members-connecting said ar with said slide blocks.

3. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising a gage bar, two suspension members pivoted to said bar, slide blocks movable parallel but independently of each other, and rotatable adjusting screws for actuating said slide blocks.

4. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising a ga e bar, an adjusting screw, a slide block shdably mounted on said screw, and a thrust nut actuated by said adjusting screw and operating to move said block along said screw.

5. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprisin a gage bar, an adjusting screw, a slide lock movable parallel to said screw and connected with said bar, and a thrust nut engaging with the threads of said adjusting screw and operating to move said block in one direction or the other, said adjusting screw passing completely through 'and engaging with the internal threads of said nut.

6. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising a gage bar, an adjusting screw, a thrust nut arranged upon said screw, which latter passes entirely through said nut and engages with the internal threads thereof, and a slide block slidably mounted on said 'bearingagainst opposite sides of the same.

7. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising a gage bar, adjusting screws operativeli; connected to opposite ends of said ga e ar and either moved in unison with eac other or independently movable, and measuring scales arranged adjacent to each adjusting screw.

8. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising a gagebar, adjusting screws operatively connected to opposite ends of said gage bar and independently movable, and mechanical means for holding either or both of said screws in either their locked or unlocked positions. a

9. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising a gage bar, a supporting arm, an adjusting screw'journaled 1n said arm, a hand wheel associated with said screw, and a looking pin journaled and slidably mounted on said supporting arm and adapted to engage w1th said hand wheel to prevent rotation thereof and provided with a stop shoulder adapted to hold said pin in its retracted position.

10. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising a frame, a age bar, supporting arms secured to said rame and provided with abutments, parallel adjusting screws journaled in said supporting arms and arranged at either end of said gage bar, slide blocks arran ed on said screws and connected with sai gage bar, hand wheels operatively associated with said screws and provlded with a plurality of micrometer looking holes, locking pins journaled and slidably mounted in said supporting arms and adapted to engage with adjacent locking holes and provided with stop shoulders.

which are adapted to bear against said abutments and yielding means for moving said pins longitudinall 11. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc.,

comprising a gage bar, supporting arms,

parallel adjusting screws Independently movable and journaled in said supporting arms and each provided with a screw thread of measured pitch, a hand wheel associated with each screw and provided with a circular row of micrometer locking holes whose number is correlated to the pitch of the adjusting screw threads, and locking pins each adapted to engage with any 0 said micrometer lockin holes in one of said wheels.

or sheet metal shears, etc., y

12; A gage comprising a gage bar, supporting arms parallel adjusting screws journaled in said arms and independently rotatable, slide blocks carried on said screws, a suspension link connected to one end of said gage bar and to one of said slide blocks, and a suspension arm secured to the other end of said gage bar and to the other slide block.

13. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising adjusting screws, a gage bar connected at its opposite ends to said screws so as. to be moved thereby, and means whereby either of said screws may be moved independently or operatively locked together so that a movement of either one causes a movement of the other.

14. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising adjusting screws, a hand wheel shaft geared to each of the adjusting screws, a coupling whereby the hand wheel shafts may be coupled or uncoupled, and a gage bar operatively connected to said adjusting screws.

15. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising hand wheel shafts, a ga e bar operatively connected at different points to said hand wheel shafts, means for turning one of said shafts, and means for uncoupling or coupling said shafts together.

. 16. A gage bar for sheet metal comprising longitudinally arranged adjusting screws, a gage bar operatively connected thereto, transversely arranged hand wheel shafts axially in line witheach other and individually connected operatively with said adjusting screws, and means for coupling said hand wheel shafts together.

17. A gage for sheet metal shears, etc., comprising a gage bar, suspension links pivoted thereto, slide blocks connected to said links, adjusting screws arran ed to longitudinally move said slide blocis, transverse hand wheel shafts geared independently to said adjusting screws, means for rotating either of said hand wheel shafts, and means for coupling the same so as to rotate together.

FREDERICK E. MUNSCHAUER.

shears, etc., 

